Butterscotch

These butterscotchy colours are very autumnal.

This strand features a classic stacked dots pattern.

And this strand of seven has many dots arranged in different ways.

Both of these sets were made with CiM Butter Pecan, Effetre dark topaz/root beer 016 and CiM Toto.

The beads are available in my shop.

Woodland

I like the possibility sparks that happen when you're making two-colour beads. By limiting yourself to two colours and focusing on just making patterns your mind starts to ask "What if... ?" and several new ideas start to percolate.

That's how these 'Woodland' beads came to be. I took one of the many patterns from all the black and white beads I've been making recently and I did it in CiM Dirty Martini, Effetre sage green 019 and CiM Toto instead, and I made seven beads all the same. I really like the result.

These beads are quite small - 11mm diameter and 9mm hole-to-hole. I reckon they'd look nice tumble-etched.

The 'Woodland' beads are available in my shop.

Even more black and white

I've made a couple of smaller strands of black and white beads. I also made a dozen in black, white, light turquoise and orange-red. 

I forgot to say in my previous black and white beads posts that the black is Effetre 064 and Effetre intense black 066 and the white is Effetre 204. 

The light turquoise here is Effetre 232 and the orange-red is Effetre coral 420. Coral varies from batch to batch and this is a particularly red version.

These strands are all for sale in my shop. I know they're quite pricey but, as usual, they're not as pricey as they should be. All that dot placement and careful melting-in takes time. (I always feel the need to justify the price tag.)

I'm still not done with this style of bead, or the black and white, so I'll keep going. I think I'll try adding a touch of lavender-blue next time.

Back from my travels

I had a wonderful little trip to Northern Ireland to see my sister Emily, her fella Adam and their dogs, Pu-Ki and Trigger, in their new home. Donaghadee is such a beautiful little place. It's on the north-east coast of the Ards Peninsula and it has lovely shops and its own lighthouse.

Emily, me and Sally

The Donaghadee lighthouse

We went for a walk at the nearby Ballywalter Beach which is so very pretty, and we also visited the Ulster Folk Museum which was marvellous. People in period dress doing heritage crafts in actual olden buildings? Right up my cobbled street.

Em, Sal and Pu-Ki at Ballywalter beach

Pu-Ki

Me with Trigger

Now I've remembered how to use an airport I can't wait to go back because I have to go and see Giant's Causeway and the Tayto Castle. Also, I need to sample more of Northern Ireland's delicious baked goods. Never have I seen so many different cakes and buns. We went out for dinner one night at Harbour & Company in Donaghadee and I had the tallest, most fluffy lemon meringue pie I've ever had. So good.

I want to eat it again

I travelled back to Southampton with Sally and my nephew Dylan, and stayed a couple of nights with them.

Enca, Sally's cat

On the way home I called in to see my friend Zeb. We had a lovely few hours chatting and catching up, drinking tea and eating the most incredible banoffee cake that she baked for my visit.

Behold the baked banoffee brilliance!

Since I've been home I've mostly been saying random words in a Northern Irish accent and making more black and white beads. Every day I've added the previous day's beads to a strand and I've been walking about with them in my pocket. I love having a strand of beads to hand like that. They're comforting in a worry beads kind of way.

I'm not done with the black and white beads just yet. I'm enjoying making them too much to stop so please bear with me while I get them out of my system.

I separated the mega-strand above into four smaller strands, each consisting of nineteen beads and at the time of typing I have two strands left.

Each strand is enough to make a bracelet just as they are, or the addition of a few spacers or accent beads will give you a striking monochrome necklace.

The black and white beads can be found in my shop.

More black and white ones

I kept going with the black and white, making sure not to kill any in the water jug, and I've ended up with another bunch of little beads. These are about 10 to 11mm diameter.

Dots-and-lines beads have always been some of my most favourite beads to make but I think I somehow forgot that somewhere along the way. I'm glad I've reminded myself how much I like making them.

I'll be making more today but none of these beads will be for sale for a week or so because tomorrow I'm going away for a few days. I'm off to visit my littlest sister in Northern Ireland. She and her fella moved to Donaghadee a couple of months back and my other sister, my nephew and I are going out to visit her for the first time.

This means I'm going on a plane! I haven't been on an aeroplane since 2006. I won't pretend I'm not a tad nervy about it. I don't fear flying, it's just I've not done so for so flipping long. It can't have changed that much, can it? Of course not. It'll be FINE. I had to get a new passport and everything because my old one expired in 2008. I know you don't need one to get into Northern Ireland but you do need photo ID and I don't have a driving licence so a new passport it was.

I'll leave you with a photograph of a bee enjoying one of my sunflowers.

This particular sunflower is near on nine feet tall and I had to stand on tiptoes, hold my phone as high as I could and use the zoom without actually being able to see the screen, so it's surprising I got this picture at all.

See you in a week or so!